We want someone new!
That’s the rallying cry from nearly half of city Democrats, who aren’t happy with any of their party’s candidates for mayor, according to a stunning new poll.
A whopping 46 percent of registered Democratic voters surveyed by Marist College wish they could cast their ballots for someone other than Fernando Ferrer, Gifford Miller, Anthony Weiner or C. Virginia Fields.
Voters wanting a fresh face came from across the racial spectrum: 49 percent of whites, 46 percent of African-Americans and 35 percent of Latinos said they aren’t satisfied with their current choices.
It’s the first time Marist has asked that question about the candidates in the mayoral race.
News of the Democrats’ dissatisfaction came as former front-runner Ferrer’s 18-point lead over his closest rival, Fields, shrunk to a scant 4 points in just one month, the poll by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion revealed.
It also showed that 47 percent of Democrats are less likely to vote for Ferrer after his declaration in March that the 1999 police shooting death of Amadou Diallo was not a crime.
Not only has Ferrer’s lead in the Democratic race dipped within the margin of error for the first time, but his edge over Mayor Bloomberg also has vanished.
Ferrer now trails the mayor by double digits, 13 points, after holding a 7-point lead just a month ago – a 20-point reversal in a matter of weeks.
After his Diallo flub, Ferrer’s numbers plummeted particularly among blacks.
In March, 41 percent of African-Americans supported Ferrer and 32 percent backed Fields.
A month later, Fields numbers among blacks jumped to 53, while Ferrer dropped to 29, an astounding 33-point shift.
Leading all challengers, Bloomberg said he was pleased with the poll’s findings.
“Obviously, when polls go up, you have a bigger smile on your face than when they go down,” Bloomberg said.
“But I can’t worry about polls. There’s one poll that I worry about, and that is what takes place on Nov. 8.”
Ferrer, the former Bronx borough president, insisted he isn’t worried by his fall in the polls.
“As I’ve said all along, polls are going to go up and down. I’m not focused on them,” Ferrer said in a statement.
“I’m focused on the 1.1 million schoolchildren in this city, and solving this education crisis so that every one of them has a quality education. I look forward to a competitive race and an honest and open debate about the future of this city.”
Aside from Bloomberg, Fields, the only woman and African-American in the contest, has been the largest beneficiary of Ferrer’s Diallo stumble.
Her steady rise in the polls culminated yesterday with the news that she is now at 30 percent, well within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 5.5 points.
Fields has moved up more than any other candidate – in December, she was backed by just 13 percent of Democrats.
Her top adviser, Joseph Mercurio, said the Manhattan borough president’s gains were not just due to Ferrer’s foot-in-mouth comments about Diallo.
Mercurio pointed out that the number of undecided voters has shrunk from 24 percent to 13 percent since December, and those Democrats have moved mostly to Fields’ camp.
“She’s had a significant move as voters have learned there’s a woman of substance running who’s the Manhattan borough president,” Mercurio said.
“I’m starting to think we might beat [Ferrer] before a runoff.”
Miller and Weiner continue to hover around 10 percent, mired in about the same spot where they’ve been stuck since polling began last year.
For the latest poll, Marist surveyed 327 Democratic city voters on Monday and Tuesday.
Additional reporting by David Seifman and Stephanie Gaskell
Fernando Ferrer Former Bronx Borough President
Poll Numbers
March 39% April 34%
Gifford Miller City Council speaker
Poll Numbers
March 10% April 12%
C. Virginia Fields Manhattan Borough president
Poll Numbers
March 21% April 30%
Anthony Weiner Congressman (D-Queens)
Poll Numbers
March 11% April 11%
What the Democrats Want:
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